



m 




§UuttB. 



GEORGE H. STUART, Chairman, 11 Bank Street. 
JOSEPH PATTERSON, Treasurer, Western Bank. 
Rev. W. E. BOARDMAN, Secretary, 11 Bank Street. 



Rev. ROLLIN H. NEALE, D.D., Boston. 

CHARLES DExMOND, Esq., J3osto7i. 

Rev. Bishop E. S. JANES, D.D., New York. 

Rev. JAMES EELLS, D.D.; Brooklyn. 

MITCHELL H. MILLER, Esq., Washington. 

GEORGE H. STUART, Esq., Fhiladelphia. 

JOHN P. CROZER, Esq., PJdladelpJda. 

JAY COOKE, Esq., Fhiladelphia. 

Rev. M. L. R. P. THOMPSON, D.I>., Cincin7uui. 

Col. CLINTON B. FISK, St. Louis. 

JOHN V. FARWELL, Esq., Chicago. 

JOHN D. HILL, M.D., Buffalo. 



^^uiitik Cominiitn. 

GEORGE H. STUART, Chairman, Philadelphia. 
Rev. Bishop E. S. JANES, D.D., New York. 
CHARLES DEMOND, Boston. 
JOHN P. CROZER, Philadelphia. 
JAY COOKE, Phihulelphiu. 



ARMY COMMITTEE 

or THE 

§odon |fluiig pen's Cj)iistian ^ssonation, 

roo:ms r> trkmoistt xkmfle, 

BOSTON. 



EDWARD S. TOBEY, Chairmax, 103 State Street. 
JACOB SLEEPER, 158 Devonshire Street. 
J. SUELIVAN WARREN, 6 Park Street. 
RUSSELI; STTTRGIS, Jk., 13 Joy Street. 
JOSEPH S'J'ORY, TuEAST-KKK, 112 Tremont Street. 

1,. i*. PvOWl.ANI), Jii., Agent, Rooms of the Assoeiation. 



The Anny Committee is acting for the Christian Commission 
in Xcw I'higiand. 

}*Ioiiey shouhl he sent to Josi-nr Sxoky, 112 Tremont Street, 
.-rail IlCspital Supplies, l^ooks, etc., to L. P. Rowland, Jk., 
.!t tlto Assoeiation Rooms, 5 Tremont Temple. Boston. 



UNITED STATES CHRISTIAN COMMISSION, 



F A. C T S3 



PRINCIPLES AND PROGRESS. 



October, 186 3. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
C. SHERMAN, SON & CO., PRINTERS. 



CONTENT^ ^"^^ 



PAGE 

OFFICIAL SANCTION. 

Letter from President Lincoln, ....... o 

Memorandum from Secretary Stanton, 8 

Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, 4 

Letter from the Postmaster-General, 4 

Letter from General Meade to the United States Christian Com- 
mission, .......... 5 

Letter from Surgeon-General Hammond to the United States 

Christian Commission, .6 

UNITED STATES CHRISTIAN COMMISSION. 

Origin, ........... 7 

Aim, .7 

Comprehensiveness, ......... 1 

Specialities, .......... 7 

Agencies for the Field, • . . .8 

1. Men, 8 

2. Stores, 9 

3. Publications, 10 

Agencies at Home, 10 

Facilities, . . . . . . • • • • .11 

Economy, .......... 11 

Kesults, 12 

Necessities, . . . . ... • . • .13 

To Meet these Necessities, 15 

DELEGATE AVORK. 

Nature of the Work, 16 

Battle-field Work, 17 

Personal Outfit, 18 

Supplies for Distribution, 18 

Terms and Expense Money, 18 

Hints to Committees and Others about Delegates, . . ,18 

INCIDENTS. 

Body and Soul, 20 

A Little Help, just at the Right Time, 21 

A Life Saved, 22 

A Protestant Professor Praying in a Catholic Church, . . 23 

The Right Doctor, 24 

A Rebel Penitent, 2(5 

Mother and Son on the Battle-field, ...... 26 

Taking the Bitter out of the War, 27 

An Impressive Service, . . .28 

That Is Christianity, 29 

No Red Tape Here, 30 

Example of Delegate Work on the Battle-field, . . . .30 
Army Conversions, . . . . . . . . .31 

An Ohio Soldier, 31 

INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION ABOUT STORES. 

Objects and Methods of Distribution, 32 

WHAT TO SEND, 34 

HOW TO PACK, 35 

HOW TO MARK, . . . 36 



OFFICIAL SANCTION. 



From President Lincoln. 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, December 12, 1861. 

My dear Sir : 

Your letter of the 11th inst., and accompanying plan, both 
of which are returned as a convenient mode of connecting this 
with them, have just been received. Your Christian and be- 
nevolent undertaking for the benefit of the soldiers, is too ob- 
viously proper and praiseworthy to admit any difference of 
opinion. I sincerely hope your plan may be as successful in 
execution as it is just and generous in conception. 

Your obedient servant, 

A. Lincoln. 

Geo. H. Stuart, Esq., 

Chairman U. S. Christian Commission, 
Philadelphia. 

From the Secretary of War. 

MEMORANDUM OF HON. E. M. STANTON. 

Washington City, January 24, 186-3. 
Bishop Janes is authorized to state, that he has received 
assurance from the Secretary of War, that every facility con- 
sistent with the exigencies of the service will be afforded to 



the Christian Commission, for the performance of their reli- 
gious and benevolent purposes in the armies of the United 
States, and in the forts, garrisons, camps, and military posts. 

From the Secretary of the Navy. 

Navy Department, December 16, 1861. 

Sir: 

I have received your letter of the 11th inst., asking an ex- 
pression of the Department as to the objects of the United 
States Christian Commission, to promote the welfiire of the 
soldiers, sailors, marines, &c. 

The Department will be gratified with any legitimate means 
to promote the welfare, present and future, of all who are in 
the Hervice. I am, very respect Tally, 

Your oli.dient servant, 

Gideon Welles. 

Mr. Geo. H. Stuart, 

Chairman U. S. Christian Commission, 
Philadelphia. 

From t!ic Postmaster-General. 

Washington, January 6, 1863. 

Dear Sir: 

The Christian Commission, of which you are chairman, have 
in hand a noble work, and are performing it, I am well as- 
sured, 3B only a labor of love can be performed. 

Yours, respectfully, 

M. Blair. 

To Gbo, H. Stuart, 

Chairman U. S. Christian Commission, 
Philadelphia. 



General Meade to tlie United States Christian Commission. 

Headquarters Army of the Potomac, 
August 5, 1863. 

George H. Stuart, Chairman United States Christian Commission, 

13 Bank Street, Philadelphia. 

Dear Sir: 

I received recently, through the hands of Mr, Cole, your 
kind letter of the 27th ult. It will afford me very great plea- 
sure to render you every encouragement and facility in nij 
power to prosecute the good and holy work you have entered 
upon. 

I assure you, no one looks with more favor upon the true 
Christian, who ministers to the spiritual wants of the dying, 
or the physical wants of the wounded, than those who are 
most instrumental in the line of their duty in causing this suf- 
fering; hence, you may rest satisfied that in this army your 
agents and assistants will receive every co-operation, and be 
treated with all the consideration due the important and noblo 
work they are engaged upon. 

I shall be glad to hear from you whenever anything occursi 
requiring my action, and shall always be ready, as far as the 
exigencies of the service and my authority will permit, to 
comply with your wishes. 

Very respectfully and truly yours, 

Geo. G. Meade, 

Major-General Commanding. 



Surgeon-General Hammond to tlic United States Christian Commission. 

Surgeon-General's Office, 

Washington, D. C, July 20, 1868. 
Dear Sir: 

I beg that you will accept my most heartfelt thanks for the 
devotion to the service of the sick and wounded soldiers at 
Gettysburg, manifested by the Christian Commission and its 
agents. 

Owing to the military necessities of the occasion, the suffer- 
ing would have been much greater than it was but for the aid 
afforded the medical ofi&cers by the benevolent individuals who 
came to their assistance. 

I trust you will convey my thanks to those of your body 
who acted with the Medical Department at Gettysburg, and 
assure them how highly I value their labors. Begging you 
to accept my warmest acknowledgments for your own service 
in the cause of humanity. 

Believe me yours sincerely, 

William A. Hammond, 

Surgeon-General. 
Q-eorge H. Stuart, Esq., 

Chairman U. S. Christian Commission. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 



U. S. CHRISTIAN COMMISSION, 



ORIGIN. 

The United States Christian Commission originated at a 
Convention of Young Men's Christian Associations of the 
loyal States, called for the purpose, November 16, 1861, in 
the city of New York. 

AIM. 

Its object is to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare 
of the brave men in* arras to put down a wicked rebellion. 

COMPREHENSIVENESS. 

As indicated by its name, the commission is both National 
and Christian. 

Like the Government, it embraces all the States, and minis- 
ters with impartial hand to our national forces, military and 
naval, without local or State distinction ) and like the Great 
Founder of Christianity, it embraces both body and soul in 
the scope of its beneficence. 

SPECIALITIES. 

Regarding our brave men as warriors exposed to the perils 
of battle, the Commission gives the help that saves life in the 



8 



day of extremity, and relieves anguish on the field and in the 
hospital. 

Regarding them as mortal yet immortal, it hrings to them 
the light of life in death, and affords Christian burial to the 
body when the soul has gone to the spirit-world. 

Looking upon them as citizen soldiers, only for a time en- 
gaged in the pursuits of war, exposed to temptations peculiar 
to the camp, and in danger of corruption, the Commission 
brings to bear upon them influences to keep them pure against 
the day of their return to civil life. 

Looking upon them as our national defence, and under God 
our sole dependence to save the Union and put down the re- 
bellion, the Commission cheers and strengthens them for duty 
and for complete success. 

Viewing them as absent members of Christian homes and 
Christian communities, the Commission supplies to them in 
their absence, as well as possible, imperfectly at best, the 
place of father, mother, brother, sister, wife and friend, minis- 
ter and church, to cheer and sustain them in their hardships, 
toils and perils, temptations and privations. 

And esteeming them above all as those for whom the Re- 
deemer tasted death, and to whom He sends the message of 
life eternal, amongst whom there is opportunity for hopeful 
labor unpanilleled in the past, and never again perhaps to 
offer in the future, the Commission sends the living Christian 
teacher and the printed truth, in hope and confidence of glo- 
rious fruit. 

AGENCIES FOR THE FIELD. 

These are three, — Men, Stores, and Publications. 

1. Men. 
Christian ministers and laymen, enlisted as unpaid volun- 
teers, and sent as delegates to battle-fields, hospitals, and 



9 



\ camps, form the first great distinctive feature and principal 
reliance of the Christian Commission. 

One, two, or more of these delegates, tried and proven in 
their adaptations to the work, are retained in each army as 
Field Agents (one as General Field Agent), to superintend 
and direct the work, establish stations, obtain facilities, order 
stores and publications, procure subsistence, and report to the 
Commission the work done by delegates. 

2. Stores. 

For distribution by the delegates, that is to say, the dis- 
tribution of stores by the delegates, is another most important 
feature of the plans and operations of the Commission. 

Without stores to use at the right moment, under direction 
of the surgeon, the delegate could do little to aid the surgeon 
in saving life or relieving anguish. He would be paralyzed. 
But combining the two — delegates and stores — sending trust- 
worthy kind Christian men to distribute stores, under direction 
of the surgeons, and to aid them with w\^rm hearts and willing 
hands filled full of the needful stores, — this is the plan for 
saving life and relieving misery. 

The distribution of stores opens the hearts of those who re- 
ceive them to the glad reception of the Gospel, from the lips 
of delegates who dispense them. It touches the soldiers 
hearts too with gratitude, to the people at home who send the 
stores, and keeps alive the bonds of affection between the two. 

This plan also gives assurance to the generous donors, that the 
stores they contribute will safely reach the men for whom they 
are designed. The delegates who distribute the stores are 
the chosen representatives of the people themselves who give 
them, — men who go, without pay, to labor and suffer, if need 
be ; inspired by the same noble desire as that of the donors 
themselves, — to relieve and save our suffering heroes. 



10 



3. Publications. 

The Government furnish none. Chaplains are thrown upon 
their own resources for religious reading matter to distribute 
to their men. Many regiments are without chaplains. 

The Christian Commission, with its one head and all-em- 
bracing plans, is capable of expansion as a distributing agency 
for the supply of the entire army and navy with the Scriptures, 
books, papers, and tracts ; and these publications are a power 
in the hands of delegates, enabling them to cheer and aid 
faithful chaplains in their work, by filling their hands with 
means of good, and adding also to the personal influence of 
the delegates themselves the power of the press through all 
the ranks of our national forces. 

AGENCIES AT HOME. 

Besides the General Executive Committee and its Central 
Office in Philadelphia, under direction of the Chairman, aided 
by the Secretary, there are Army Committees of Young Men's 
Christian Associations in some places, as in Philadelphia, 
Boston, Washington, Buffalo, Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis, 
and in others Branches, formed by the Commission itself, as 
in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Detroit, and Cincinnati, 
and also local committees appointed by the people and recog- 
nized by the Commission. 

These all co-operate in gathering stores and collecting money 
to carry on the work in the field. 

Returned delegates, full of the facts and fire of the work in 
the army, on the battle-field, and in the hospitals, act as volun- 
tary agents at home to enlist other good men to go as delegates, 
and in the collection of money and stores for the work. 

Ladies also, in various organizations, as Ladies' Aid Socie- 
ties and Ladies' Christian Commissions, render most eJ0&cient 
service in the home field^ — the field of supply. 



11 



FACILITIES. 

The Government not only recognizes and commends the 
Christian Commission, but cheerfully grants free transportation 
of men and supplies over all military railways and upon all 
Government transports, and gives freely every facility, limited 
.only by absolute military necessities. 

Railways almost all generously grant free passes, under 
proper regulations, for all delegates of the Commission, and 
transportation of supplies either entirely free or at greatly re- 
duced rates. 

Telegraph companies generally, transmit all despatches on 
business of the Commission without charge. 

Military and medical officers afford all information and every 
opportunity consistently in their power to enable the Commis- 
sion to pursue its work intelligently and with success. 

ECONOMY. 

Work in the field by delegates without salary. 

Collections at home by committees and delegates withourt 
pay. 

Travel and transportation from home to the field and from 
the field home again free. 

Telegraphic despatches sent and received without charge. 

Tents, ambulances, and railroad transportation within army 
lines given by the Government. 

Stores in vast quantities made up and sent in freely by the 
ladies. 

Bibles and Testaments furnished gratuitously and abun- 
dantly by the American Bible Society. 

Offices and store-rooms in most places afforded without 
charge for rent. 



12 



The chief executive work almost everywhere done by men 
of business without pecuniary reward. 

These are the unparalleled economic advantages enjoyed by 
the Christian Commission for the prosecution of its work. 

RESULTS. 

Pressure of duties, probably, growing out of the recent bat- 
tles, has prevented various branches from reporting their work 
to the general ofl&ce in time for this pamphlet. An approxi- 
mate statement in many particulars is all that can be made. 
This is done because the facts are often urgently requested by 
those who desire to use them in extending interest amongst 
the people. Could the actual figures be given, doubtless the 
various items would be greatly increased. 

It is now October 1st, 1863. The first delegates and stores 
sent by the Commission left Philadelphia for the Peninsula, 
May 14th, 1862. The statement following will show the 
figures of the work during; the sixteen intervening; months. 

O O O 

Delegates sent. ........ 1,154 

Stores and Publications distributed, boxes, barrels, 

Ac, over 10,000 

Value of Stores donated to Commission, over $200,000 
Money received, over .... 200,000 

Value of fjcratuitous services and facilities, over 100,000 



Total for sixteen montbs, over . . . $500,000 

Volumes of the Scriptures, and parts of the Scriptures, 

distributed, donated by the Americm Bible Soc, 480,763 
The same, donated by the British and Foreign Bible 

Society, 15,000 

Religious Newspapers, weekly and monthly, over . 1,300,000 

Magazines and good secular reading, over . . ] 00, 000 

Soldiers" small Knapsack Books, over . . . 750,000 

Hymn and Psalm Books, over ..... 400,000 

Pages of Tracts, over 18,000,000 



13 



These figures show something of the work of distribution, 
the generosity of the people, and the self-sacrificing spirit of 
the noble men who have volunteered their services, but they 
do not give the results in saving life, relieving misery, cheering 
men to duty, and leading them to the Savior. 

It has been repeatedly stated as the calm conviction of sur- 
geons and others conversant with the circumstances at Get- 
tysburg, and witnesses of what was done by delegates of the 
Commission, that the stores they distributed, besides an untold 
amount of suffering relieved, more than a thousand lives were 
saved by them, and on that field alone. What then must 
the results have been of the work of the whole thousand and 
more, on all fields and in all armies? Who shall tell the 
joy in thousands of households over these saved ones ? Who 
will estimate the consolations afforded the friends of those 
who died by the transmission of their dying messages and 
t^jkcns of remembrance to them ? Who will count the number 
won to Jesus, and the joy in heaven over their salvation ? 
Some of our commanders know well and tell in glowing words 
the influence of the Commission on their men, to steady them 
and inspire them with the courage that faces death, and the 
endurance that wins the victory. 

NECESSITIES. 

The Government is wisely filling up the ranks of our thinned 
armies everywhere. Already the drafted men are going for- 
ward. New strength is accumulating to be hurled against 
the rebellion, with plans improved and skill perfected. 

The Commission ought also to extend its plans and perfect 
its operations, so as to meet more fully than ever before the 
wants of our national forces. 

With MEN and means this can be done. There can be the 



u 



permanent organization of a corps of delegates in each army 
corps, or its equivalent, provided with tents, stores, publica- 
tions, and means of transportation, to move when the army 
moves, and be present with the needed stores, to give the sur- 
geons their personal assistance in every battle ; the nucleus, 
with which delegates sent as minute men, especially for battle- 
field work, may combine and become practically of greater 
value. 

This, however, will require say three hundred delegates in 
the regular army work, always in the field ; more than double 
tlie number heretofore engaged, aside from minute men. 

Men, therefore, are needed. Good men, strong men, men 
of three classes, first rate in each. 

1st. Preachers who have head, heart, and lungs to command 
audience in the open air. 

2d. Workers who can distribute wisely, help dress wounds, 
wash and dress helpless men, make soup and give it, speak to 
soldiers about salvation, pray with the dying, write letters for 
them, or do anything the varying circumstances demand. 

3d. Business men to manage affairs, at offices and stations, 
obtain facilities and papers and direct the work as field agents. 

Men of these three classes are a first necessity. Let 
this be marked especially by ministers and working Christians 
of all denominations, and let them volunteer. 

Stores and Publications will be needed in proportion, 
twice as much as heretofore. 

And Money in still larger measure. 

The purchase of well-selected Field Hospital Libraries will 
form a new item of cash expenditure necessarily large if the 
want is met. 

The purchase of tents, teams, and wagons, indispensable to 
the proposed corps organization of delegates in the various 



15 



army corps, is another new and large line of investment re- 
quiring money. 

This, in addition to the purchase of nt least double the amount 
heretofore required as supplies for distribution, creates necessi- 
ties which must be met by corresponding liberality on the part 
of those who supply the sinews of the work. 



TO MEET THESE NECESSITIES, 

1. Delegates returned, ministers of all denominations, and 
friends in general of the Commission, are authorized and 
urged to form committees of three, five, or more in every lo- 
cality where needed, and report their names for recognition 
and enrolment to the General Office in Philadelphia, or the 
District Office nearest to the Committee. 

2. All Committees are requested to enlist and recommend 
to the general officers of the Commission, one, two, or more 
of the very best men for the work in their community, to go 
as delegates for the regular term of six weeks or more in the 
regular army work. 

3. x\ll returned delegates, ministers, friends, and com- 
mittees, are urged to secure and forward stores and money to 
the General Office or the District Office nearest them. 

4. The ladies everywhere are invited to form Ladies' 
Christian Commissions if they choose, or if already organized 
under other names, then they are requested to co-operate with 
the Commission, and in every suitable way aid in the supply 
of men, money, and stores for the prosecution of its work 
upon the enlarged scale proposed. 

5. Churches are requested to hold monthly meetings of 
prayer for the soldiers and sailors, and make monthly contri- 
butions in aid of work of the Commission amoncjst them. 



16 
DELEGATE WOKK. 



nature of the Work. 

Battle-field Work differs in some respects essentially from 
army work. Care for the body is first on the batlle-field, while in 
the army the great aim is to save the soul. On the battle field, life 
saving and the relief of hunger, thirst, and pain, strain every nerve 
and muscle. In the army, talent, energy, and enterprise are tasked 
in public preaching, private teaching, social meetings, and the dis- 
tribution of printed truth. 

Army Work affords rare opportunities for promoting correspon- 
dence between the soldiers and their friends at home, of benefiting 
them in health and spirits, and unparalleled advantages for preach- 
ing the Gospel to them, and winning them to the Saviour. It is ar- 
ranged as follows : 

The general field agent selects various army centres convenient 
both as positions from which to reach surrounding sections of the 
army, and as places of assembly for the soldiers who may desire to 
attend religious services. Six, eight, or more of these stations may 
be established in each army while at rest, and at each station, store, 
subsistence, and chapel tents -are set up, supplied, and manned. 

At these stations daily religious services are held. At some of 
them, two services a day, one social and the other preaching, and 
from them Bibles, Testaments, and religious publications are sup- 
plied to chaplains, and other good men, in such regiments as have 
those who will take the pains to come in for them, and make the 
proper distribution. And from these stations also, delegates go out 
canvassing, supplying, cheering, benefiting the soldiers, regiment by 
regiment, and hospital by hospital, through all the army. 

In all regiments and hospitals having chaplains, delegates report 
to the chaplains, and offer them such reading matter for distribution 
as' they may have at command, and render such service in aid of 
the chaplains, if desired, as they may have time to render. In all 
cases ihe chaplains are to he strengthened, not iceakened, and as- 
sisted, not hindered, in meeting ihe responsibilities of their position. 



IT 



Battle-field Work. 

A battle-field may be as follows, or something like it. In leiiCTth 
say ten miles, and five in breadth. Lengthwise from end to end, 
the two opposing lines of battle are formed a mile or two apart. 
The battle begins as an artillery duel. Men fall along both lines, 
and are carried back. The surgeons of each army corps select a 
l)oint conveniently in the rear for their own wounded men. Thus 
five, six, or more corps hospitals are formed in an irregular line at 
wide intervals apart in the rear of each army. As the battle pro- 
ceeds, one of the contending armies, in advancing line or solid 
column, assaults the other, and either succeeds or is repulsed, when 
the intermediate space between the two lines becomes the scene of 
terrific carnage. The tide of battle may sway from line to line until 
one or the other yields at last, and is driven back or routed, when 
carnage is extended as far as the victors pursue the vanquished. 
Ov»r all this field lie strewn the dead and wounded. Those who can 
crawl, hobble, or walk, seek shelter in some house or barn, or make 
their way to the hospitals of their own army corps, whilst others 
must lie and suffer hunger, thirst, and anguish, until taken up and 
carried on stretchers or in ambulances to the hospital. 

Thus the field. Delegate work on the field is arranged as follows : 

All is under direction of a general field agent. He selects a place 
central to the general field for headquarters. There a store is se- 
cured, or two if needed (or tents are pitched), and placed in charge 
of a delegate, who acts as agent, with one, two, or more to assist 
him in receiving and opening stores, and giving them out to the 
proper persons. The delegation is divided into committees, each 
having its own chairman or captain, and a corps hospital is assigned 
to each committee. The committees, each for itself, pitch tent and 
open out central to the tents of the several hospitals to ' which they 
are assigned, and from thence seek supplies from Commission head- 
quarters at the general station for their work. 

This the arrangement. The work begins while the battle rages. 
The delegate, under direction of the surgeon, — for, whatever is done 
for the wounded or sick, must, in every possible instance, be done 
under the direction of the surgeon, — assists in gathering the wounded 
from the field, even under the guns of the enemy if need be, and at 
the hospital assists the surgeons at the amputating table, or strips 
*** 



18 



of? tlie bloody garments from the mangled men, washes them, and 
puts clean clothes upon them, or prepares and gives food or drink 
to them, as the case may be. 

When the conflict is over, then comes the work of saving life 
abroad upon the field, by seeking out and ministering to men in ex- 
tremity, and also in the hospitals, where gathering thousands need 
timely service, or they must die. 

This, with receiving messages from the suffering heroes and 
writing for them to their friends, directing them to the Great Phy- 
sician, giving Christian burial to the dead, and such religious ser- 
vices as the circumstances will permit, is the general delegate work 
on the battle-field. 

This in brief is the work of delegates. 

The term of service is, for battle-field work, two weeks or the 
emergency ; for the army work, six weeks or over. 

Personal Outfit. 

This should be very simple. A respectable suit, with a few shirts, 
collars, and socks, will be better than any more elaborate outfit to 
be taken from home. A blanket and strap and haversack are fur- 
nished by the Commission. 

Supplies for Distribution. 

Bibles, Testaments, soldiers' books, papers, and tracts, with stores, 
are provided by the Commission iki the field at each station for gra- 
tuitous distribution. 

Terms and Expense Money. 

Delegates receive no paij for their services, but their expenses are 
borne by the Commission. 

Money for expenses, if need be, is advanced, and the Commission 
has subsistence arrangements for delegates at all stations made by 
field agents. 

Application can be made in person or by letter at the Central 
Office, 11 Bank Street. Philadelphia; or to C. Deraond, 4 Court 
Street, Boston ; or to N. Bishop, HO Bible House, New York ; or to 
Joseph Albree, 71 Wood Street, Pittsburg; or W. T. Perkins, 17 
West Third Street, Cincinnati; E. D. Jones, at Exchange Bank, St. 
Louis; J. V. Farwell, Chicago; William Reynolds, Peoria; Dr. J. 
D. Hill, Buffalo; 0. D. Grosvenor, Rochester, N.Y.; Charles F, 
Clark, Detroit, Michigan, or to any committee of the Christian Com- 
mission in any other place. 



19 



Hints to Committees and Others about Delegates. 

From all this it will be seen that three classes of talent and adap- 
tation are required in the delegate work, — Preaching, Business, and 
Working. 

The enlistment of ministers who can command audience in the 
open air, of rank and file, is of first importance. 

Next, perhaps, and quite as indispensable, is it to secure those 
who have a knowledge of the world, experience in business, and 
ability in affiiirs. 

Scarcely less in value are the services of those who are adapted to in- 
terest and benefit others in social meetings and personal intercour.se. 

Four things are indispensable in all, — piety and patriotism, good 
common sense and energy. 

Men who do not succeed elsewhere should never be sent to the 
army, for they will surely fail. 

None should be accepted who desire to visit the army or a battle- 
field for any purpose whatever aside from the work of the Commission. 

No matter what the position and ability of the man may be, or 
how worthy the object he has in view, if he does not wish to put 
himself under direction of the Commission and its field agents, and 
make it his paramount business to do the proper work of the Com- 
mission, he should not be sent as a delegate. 

It is right and proper to aid all worthy men in worthy objects, by 
letters or otherwise, but the name and facilities of the Commission 
are sacred to the purposes of its organization, and cannot be lent to 
any one for any private purpose. He cannot be commissioned. 

That such a person is willing to pay his own expenses to the field, 
and on it, does not alter the case. Even if he were by contribution to 
add largely to the means of the Commission, besides paying his own 
expenses, it would be giving the name and aid of the Commission in 
getting passes for private ends undercolor of a sacred public purpose. 

Delegates when enlisted should be instructed specially to report 
themselves on the field to the field agent, and put themselves under 
his direction, and should stand pledged to do it. The Commission 
is greatly injured whenever delegates refuse to comply with our 
regulations and instructions, and perhaps most of all by those who 
visit the various points of interest as self appointed inspectors or as 
curiosity seekers, instead of entering heartily into the work at such 
points as may be assigned to them. 



20 



INCIDENTS. 

A few only can be given. They arc selected without order 
as to time or place, and rather for variety of illustration than 
peculiar impressiveness. They will exhibit the work of the 
Commission in its processes and fruits in some of their many 
phases. 

The first two following are given by Rev. Robert J. Parvin, 
of Cheltenham^ and illustrate the work of delegates for both 
the 

Body and Soul. 

^'Charles C , an orphan from Columbia County, New 

York, aged eighteen years, received a fatal wound from a ball 
passing through the upper part of his left lung. He lay for 
some two weeks in a barn belonging to the hospital of the 
Fifth Army Corps, and received there some little attention 
from us daily. Early in the morning of the day of his death, 
I said to him, 'Charley, the surgeon thinks that you cannot 
recover, and that you may not live a great while longer; is 
there anything you can think of which you would like 
to have me do for you, or any message which you would like 
to leave with me ?' He turned his full blue eyes upon me, 
and said most earnestly, ' Oh ! I must see my folks again ! 
Can't I be taken home?' I answered, 'There is no possible 
thing for your comfort which we would not do for you, but 
you are not in a condition to be removed.' ^ Pray for me,' 
was his next request. After praying for him, I said, ' Now, 
Charley, will you not look in simple trust to the precious Sa- 
vior, and pray for yourself ?' With his eyes fixed upwards, 
and his hands clasped over his breast, he offered, in simple, 
touching termSj a prayer of dedication and supplication, in 



21 



which his whole soul seemed to be deepl}' engaged. 'Lord 
Jesus, receive me.' 'I come just as I am; Lord, pardon my 
sins, and save my soul !' ' Create in me a clean heart.' ' Make 
me thy child, and when I die, take me to heaven, for Jesus 
sake/ Such are a few of the petitions which in distinct tones 
he uttered. Soon afterward he fell into a quiet slumber, 
which lasted for over an hour. Awaking from it, he said, 
with a smile, 'I feel better now. . . . Tell uncle I am going 
home to die no more !' These were his last words on earth, 
for almost whilst yet the words trembled on his lips, his soul, 
as I believe, cleansed in the Savior's blood, ascended to ' the 
home of the blessed,' Ho die no more.' 



A Little Help, just at the Eig'ht Time, of Great Value, and 
a Subsequent Acknowledgment a most Abundant Ee- 
ward. 

" Lieut. , of — Regiment, was shot through the lower 

part of the body. He was lying on the hard ground, and had 
been for several days, when I found him, having only hii- 
rubber blanket under him. I had in my trunk a bed-sack, 
made from a large sheet. I filled it with hay, and succeeded 
in getting him on it without causing him a great deal of pain. 
His sense of relief, and his thankfulness for it I cannot de- 
scribe. Nourishment, which we then prepared for him, he 
partook of and enjoyed, and his case and his feelings took a 
hopeful turn. A few days later, he was removed by ambu- 
lance and cars, still on his ' bed,' which he would not part 
with. Two weeks later I called on him at his own home in 
Philadelphia, and as I entered his room, with tearful eyes, 
his first words after a welcome were, addressing his wife, ' My 
dear, this is the gentleman I have told you of; he gave me 
that bed, and I believe he saved my life.' " 



99 



A Life Saved. 

Mr. James Grant, delegate, gives the following : 

'' When moving round amongst the wounded, who were 
lying scattered about the outside of the building used as an 
hospital by General Sedgwick's division, on the night after 
the Battle of Antietara, my attention was called by a wounded 
officer to a friend of his, whom he said was very badly wounded 
in the face, and was lying out somewhere without a covering. 

^'Directing me to the neighborhood where he was to be 
found, I started for the purpose, and throwing the rays of my 
lantern at the foot of a wooden fence, I soon discovered the 
object of my search. 

" He was a Lieutenant in one of the Pennsylvania Regi- 
ments, and had during the battle been shot in the face. The 
ball had entered in at one side of the cheek, and passed out 
at the other, grazing his tongue, and carrying away several of 
his teeth. His face was horribly swollen, and as he could not 
move his jaw, he could not speak. On asking him if he was 

Lieutenant M , of Philadelphia, he assented by a nod of 

his head. When I found him, he was reclining at the foot of 
a fence, and as it was raining pretty heavily, he was quite 
wet. 

"Procuring a few bundles of straw, a bed was made for 
him, and after making him as comfortable as possible, he was 
left for the night. During the two following days, his wound^ 
which had been hurriedly dressed upon the field, had remained 
untouched. The surgeons were all very busy, and being of a 
very amiable disposition, he showed no signs of impatience. 
He had tasted no food, and itwas pitiable to see him attempt to 
swallow even a mouthful of water. In the inflamed, wounded 
condition of his mouth, nothing could be passed down his 
throat. 



23 



" On the tbird day after our arrival here, as the surgeons 
had more to do than they could manage, we proceeded to assist 
them in washing and redressing the wounds of the men, most 
of which had remained untouched since the day of the battle. 
After some consideration, I took the Lieutenant's case in hand, 
and after about two hours' labor, succeeded in cutting away 
his whiskers, and washing the wound pretty thoroughly, both 
inside and outside the mouth. As soon as this was done, and 
all the clotted blood and matter cleared away, the swelling'- 
went down gradually, and he began to articulate a little. A 
day or so afterwards, he was able to swallow liquid, and being 
carefully cleaned and washed every day, in less than a week 
he was so far recovered as to be able to travel towards Phila- 
delphia. The next time I saw him was in his own house, 
getting along wonderfully well. Tears of gratitude filled his 
own e3^es, and those of his wife, and it amply repaid me for 
all the privations endured whilst working among the wounded 
of that bloody field, to be introduced to Mrs. M. by the gallant 
soldier, as ^ the man who picked him up at midnight, and 
dressed his wound, when he had given himself up to die.' " 

A Protestant Professor Praying in a Catholic Church, at 
the request of a Catholic Lady, for a Dyings Man. 

Rev. I. 0. Sloan relates the following, to show how both 
jKilitical and religious differences are forgotten by those who 
love Jesus, in such scenes as those which follow a great 
battle. 

''The Catholic Church as well as others, was at first used 
as an hospital. The Sabbath after the battle, Professor Stoever 
was visiting the wounded brought to this church, as he did 
constantly wherever he could find sufferers to relieve. A brave 



24 



boy, who had been laid in the chancel, was dying, and as Professor 
Stoever came down near him, a kind-hearted Catholic lady 
came to him, and said, ^ Oh ! I want you to go and talk and 
pray with that boy, for he is dying, and he is not converted/ 
He went and knelt by his side in the altar, thinking only of 
Christ and his pardoning grace, and prayed that God would 
be merciful, and forgive and bless that suffering, dying boy. 
Soon he died, and as we hope, leaning on the Savior, and re- 
joicing in the faith of the righteous." 

The Big^ht Doctor. 

Kev. B. B. Hotchkin, of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 
gives, from Hagerstown, Maryland, under date of July 27th, 
the following touching incident : 

'' The first Sabbath after our arrival, and all the week suc- 
ceeding, was filled up with the indispensable work of bodily re- 
lief, to save the lives of wounded men. ^ There was no time 
nor opportunity for public worship, and our directly religious 
efforts were confined to labors at the bedside, chiefly commend- 
ing the dying to Christ. 

" Yesterday (Sabbath) we proposed to the authorities of the 
Washington House Hospital, the largest in Hagerstown, to 
hold a public service with such of the patients as were able to 
be gathered into one company. The proposal was instantly 
acceded to, with what spirit you may judge from the reply of 
the surgeon, whose principal duty was in the large dining- 
room, then filled with four long rows of patients, all severe sur- 
gical cases. Said he, ' I have work here to keep me busy the 
whole day, but I will stop to give you time for worship any 
Lour you wish. It will be good for the men.' 

" The large door of the dining-room opened into the hotel 
office, which, with the hall, afforded room for all who were 



25 



well enough to come down from the upper stories, A joyous 
thrill ran through the hospital as the word went from story to 
story, and from room to room. 'They are going to have 
preaching!' ^ What is it? Are you going to have meet- 
ing?' said a patient in the dining-room to me, as he saw them 
bringing seats around the door. Being answered in the affirma- 
tive, he clasped his hands and cried, ' that is good ! it is 
good ! it is .so long since I have had any such privilege l^ He 
was a member of the Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, 
but in the army had long failed of falling in with the religious 
privileges which some camps and regiments aflford. He had 
longed for them, and now to him this one day in the courts 
of the Lord was better than a thousand. 

" I spoke to the audience of Christ, the Great Physician, — 
the Physician whose exceeding excellency is that His services 
are of surest and highest avail, when the skill of the earthly 
physician utterly fails. In the hands of the best surgeon 
they might die; some of them probably must die; but with 
the grace of the Heavenly Physician, whose medicine is for 
the heart, they had the surety of everlasting life. 

"To-day, passing along the dining-room, I heard a call, 
' Preacher I preacher !' I went to the bed from which it came, 
and said to the sufferer, ' My poor friend, how do you feel ?' 
'0 better, better,' said he, 'better a great deal.' 'Do you 
feel like getting well?' '0 I don't know about that, but I 
have got the Doctor you told us about; He is my Doctor now ; 
He has been with me all night; He is with me now, and I 
am better.' The sparkle of his eye and glow of his face spoke 
all that he meant. He may die, but I am persuaded he ii 
better, 

*' Time fails me to add incidents. None know until thej 
participate in this work, the value, the timeliness, and the 
blessedness of the Gospel preached amid such scenes, and t© 



26 



such assemblies. Preacher of God's comfort for the mourn- 
ing, leave for a Sabbath or two your frescoed church and your 
draperied pulpit, and try the power of the word of salvation 
among the dying victims of war, and you will believe what I 
say. 

A Rebel Penitent. 

" Oh for a gift to speak of the great good the Christian Com- 
mission is doing ! Oh that the good people that give could 
see how much they do ! I have just left the bedside of a 
rebel, who was reading a little Christian book and crying. 
Through his tears he said to me, ^ The good Christian Association 
gave this book to me, and this cooling drink, and these pre- 
served peaches. But oh, better than this, they have led me 
to the Savior, and now, if I can hop on one foot into heaven 
I will not regret the loss of my leg. If only through it I 
have found my heavenly Father, I shall be more than satisfied. 
Go and see Mr. Stuart, and give him the thanks of a rebel 
penitent.' "Rev. George F. WillIs." 



Mother and Son on the Battle-field. 

Mr. John Wiest, in a very interesting account of work 
done on the battle-field of Gettysburg, gives the following in- 
cident : 

"On Saturday, Adjutant J. J. Blinn observed a woman 
in a tent near his own, when he exclaimed, * My mother ! 
my mother !' On Wednesday his mother was telegraphed to 
come on and see her son before he died. I was in this lovely 
young man's tent when his mother arrived. The scene was 
most touching and affecting. Weak and exhausted, he told 
his mother that those around him were his friends, to which 



27 



I added, that her dear son had not only those around him as 
friends, but Christ Jesus, the best of all friends, was also his 
friend. With tears of joy, Mrs. Bliiin rejoined, 'Then your 
mother can willingly see her son die/ This noble and brave 
young man left home out of Christ, became a Christian in his 
country's service, and died a most happy death. Such triumphs 
of the glorious Gospel may well encourage the, at times, dis- 
heartened laborer in the vineyard of Christ. Very few of the 
men, yes, very few indeed, are indifferent to their spiritual 
interests/^ 



Taking the Bitter out of the War. 

Mr. Joseph Ward, delegate, relates the following : "Our work 
for many days was almost entirely for the bodies of the men, but 
from time to time occasion was found to speak a word to the 
soul. At one time ten men were brought from a barn, a few 
miles from town, where they had been lying since the battle 
of Falling Waters, more than ten days, with little or no care. 
One of them was an old man, apparently just ready to die 
from exhaustion and fatigue. He had only strength to say, 
^ So sick, so sick ) tired.' After I had washed his face and 
hands and bathed his head, I gave him a little tea (he was too 
weak to take more than one swallow without resting), which 
revived him a little, so that he said, ' God bless you ! and God 
will bless you ; I know He will.' After giving him time to 
sleep, I washed him and put on clean clothes, when his grati- 
tude seemed boundless. ' Oh ! I am a new man ; but I don't 
understand it. Are you a surgeon ?' ' No.' ' Are you ward- 
master ?' ' No.' ' Do you live in this town V ' No.' ' Well, 
who are you ?' ' An agent of the Christian Commission.' ' Oh ! 
I might have known that if I had thought a moment. They 
are doing a great deal of good, and taking a great deal of the 



28 



bitter out of this war.' He improved every day, and when 
I left him was able to walk all about the camp. 

" A part of our work was among the rebels, one hundred 
and twenty of them being in the Seminary Hospital, and after 
the men were moved to tents, they were in the same camp 
with us. They received our aid thankfully in most cases. 
Among others there was a Colonel of a Georgia regiment, who 
made special inquiry concerning the work of the Commission, 
and mourned that they had nothing of the kind at the South. 
When I left the camp, one of their officers came to our tent, 
and bade me goodbye, and thanked me in their name for the 
work of the Commission.'' 

An Impressive Service. 

The following is the closing paragraph of the report of Rev. 
Geo. W. Shiun : 

'^ Perhaps the most impressive service I ever attended, was 
held on Sunday evening last, in the square between the tents. 
It was a beautiful evening. The sun's rays had hardly disap- 
peared, and the moon had risen. A few clouds were off in 
the west, and occasionally flashes of lightning would dart from 
one to another. The camp was in a beautiful field of clover, 
and the rows of white tents stretched along the four sides of 
the field. In full view was the Eound Top Mountain, the 
Bcene of the desperate struggle of three weeks ago. 

'' There were three army chaplains and three clergymen of 
us on the ground, besides the laymen of the Commission. 
Most of the attendants, ladies, and the other well persons on 
the ground, assembled, and the service began by singing a 
hymn. The music drew together as many of the wounded as 
could hobble about, and others who were able to do so turned 
over on their couches to listen. Prayer was offered, and ad- 
dresses were made, interspersed with the singing of hymns. 



29 



Nothing could have been more interesting or affecting than 
this scene. I shall never forget it. I felt it my duty to tell 
the men that it seemed to me to be highly probable they would 
never be placed in any situation where it would be so easy to 
become Christians as there and at that time. The gates of 
the eternal world seemed swung wide open. The air seemed 
continually bearing along upon it the name of the Savior. 
Hymns of praise to Him — cries for mercy to Him — words of 
trust upon Him — were continually uttered. 

"It has never been my privilege to see such a large body 
of men so much interested in religion as the men of Corps 
No. 2 are now. Some clergymen should be continually on the 
ground to satisfy the craving of souls for the bread of life. 

" I shall ever remember the past week as one of the best I 
have ever spent/' 

"That IS Christianity." 

The following striking incidents are from the report of Rev. 
W. D. Siegfried, one of the numerous workers on the memo- 
rable battle-field of Pennsylvania : 

" A young man from Wisconsin, badly wounded, after re- 
ceiving food and drink, and such delicacies as he seemed to 
need, from my hand, wept tears of gratitude, and inquired, 
' What is the Christian Commission intended for, — only for 
soldiers? How do they afford all these things they give us?' 
Several of his fellow-soldiers turned eagerly towards me, as I 
proceeded to answer the question, they evidently feeling inte- 
rested in it. After assuring him that the Commission work 
was prosecuted entirely through Christian benevolence, he re- 
marked, ' Well, that is Christianity — that is religion I I shall 
never forget the Christian Commission delegates at Gettys- 
burg.' Several voices responded, * Neither will I.' " 



30 



''No Red Tape Here." 

*' A brave young man, not seriously wounded, came limping 
up to our tent, and requested some cloths and other articles 
to dress his wound, himself, as all hands were busy with worse 
cases. The articles I handed him at once, at the same time 
giving him a drink of ice-cold lemonade just prepared. ' Ah !' 
said he, ' there's no red tape process here ! You men of the 
Christian Commission give a fellow what he needs, when he 
needs it, without a tedious process of waiting for orders, and 
then waiting for them to be filled. Thank you, gentlemen.' 
And he turned away with a glad heart." 

Example of Delegate Work on the Battle-field. 

Rev. J. E. Adams, of Maine, writes, under date of July 
29th, 1863 : 

" We were the first on the ground of the 3d Division, 2d 
Corps Hospital, Gettysburg, both with delegates and supplies. 
Two delegates were there Saturday, Mr. Cook from Baltimore, 
and Mr. Stittson of Rochester, New York. Several others 
arrived Sabbath morning after the battle. We at once gave 
ourselves to the work of distributing cordials and bread and 
clothing to the wounded and dying. We gave them water, 
bound up their wounds, made them as comfortable as was pos- 
gible under the circumstances, and in all this ministering to 
the hodily wants of these poor men, we pointed their souls to 
Christ, and urged them to seek pardon for their sins and con- 
secrate themselves to God and his service. On Monday the 
cry was ' Bread ! bread !' Fortunately, one of our delegates 
found some good farmers at the town with a load of nice 
loaves, and after our case was stated they drove into camp with 
it, and gave it into our hands for distribution. How grateful 
the hungry boys were. '■ God bless you !' ' God bless the 



oi 



Christian Commission !' ' This is like home !' ' Oh, how good !' 
rang out continually as we passed along. Thus our work con- 
tinued for days, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giv- 
ing drink to the thirsting, binding up the wounds, and chang- 
ing the position of the suffering, breathing consolation to the 
disheartened and the dying. None but those who witnessed 
this can appreciate the gratitude of the soldiers, and realize 
the good that was done. No doubt many valuable lives were 
saved.'' 

Army Conversions. 
Rev. J. L. Heysinger, delegate, mentions the following : 
''J. B. Church, 47th New York. Badly wounded. Doubt- 
ful case. Says he was converted to God about a year ago in 
camp, through the agency of T. 0. Crawford, of the Christian 
Commission. G. H. Hawes, 7th Wisconsin, converted at 
the station of the Christian Commission, Belle Plain. Wrote 
a letter to his mother full of hope." 

An Ohio Soldier. 

Rev. Geo. H. Morss, in his report says : 

^' A soldier from an Ohio regiment was suffering from a very 
painful wound in the knee by a shell. I approached his bed 
and said to him, ' My friend, how do you feel to-day ?' ' 0, 
I am rather poorly to-day,' he said; ' but sometimes I am more 
cheerful,' and he beckoned for me to come around to the other 
side of his bed. I did so, when he said he wanted to sit up 
and see if he wouldn't feel better. I carefully raised him up, 
and after sitting a little while he called for his nurse to help 
lay him back again. Together we carefully lowered him upon 
his pillow ; still he suffered much pain and cried out from its 
severity. I stood by him trying to cheer and comfort him, 
when feeling that he needed quiet rest, I said to him, ' I will 



32 



leave you now, for you need rest, and I am afraid I shall weary 
you by talking.' '0 no,' said lie; 'don't leave me, don'fe 
leave me; stay here,' and he caught hold of my coat and pulled 
me closer to his side. 'Oh, well,' said I, ' if you wish me to 
stay, certainly I will stay with you,' and I stooped down over 
him and began to talk to him of Jesus, the blessed Comforter, 
the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, who was willing 
to be near all his sorrowing, suffering children, to help them to 
bear their griefs. ' Oh !' said he, ' how good it is to have some 
one to talk to me so now.' ' Then 3'ou love the name of Jesus, 
do you ?' said I. ' Yes, he is my strength and .support now ; 
I could not do without him.' 'When did you first find Jesus 
a Savior?' 'On the battle-field, sir.' 'How was that,' T 
asked. ' Why, I had heard much of Jesus, and I determined 
to know myself if he was such a Savior as I had heard he was. 
I sought him on the battle-field and found him, and he has 
been a precious Savior to me since.' 



INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION 
ABOUT STORES. 

Objects and Methods of Bistribution. 

There is no ground of rivalry between the Christian and the 
Sanitary Commissions. Their purposes and plans are widely 
diiferent, and not at all in conflict. 

Leaving chiefly to the Sanitary Commission the great and 
beneficent work of supplementing governmental supplies to 
the Medical Department, and filling the hands of surgeons 
with needed stores otherwise unsupplied, the Christian Com- 
mission asks only or mainly to have the means furnished to 
fill the hands of its delegates to meet the multitudes of cases 
in the army, on the battle-field, and in the crowded camps, re- 
quiring from them personal, direct administration. 



33 



In many places the delegates of the Christian Commission 
find suffering to relieve, where the Sanitary Commission have 
no stations. 

On the battle-field also, and in the great camps at times 
when overcrowded, the delegates find overwhelming want and 
terrible suffering, which can alone be met and mitigated by 
personal ministrations and personal administration of stores 
under direction of the surgeons. 

In multitudes of instances the delegates of the Christian 
Commission give relief to those who are not under care of the 
surgeons, and with whom the alternative is relief direct from 
the delegate himself or certain death, or if not death con- 
tinued suffering at least. Incidentally too, in cases requiring 
it, surgeons are supplied; but this is apart from the main 
object of the Christian Commission. 

For the battle-field work especially, a large amount of stores 
is indispensable, and not a little for the army work and tho 
camps. 

All good and suitable stores are welcomed, and all necessary 
freight and charges paid on them by the Commission. 

Societies and Committees will do well to secure free trans- 
portation for their stores, by any reliable line if not too slow, 
if possible. If not, then to send without prepayment. Better to 
send all the money they can, and let the Commission settle for 
freight, as special arrangements have been made with many lines. 

It is better not to designate particular hospitals, places, 
regiments, or armies, in sending stores, but leave the Com- 
mission free to distribute them where most urgently needed. 
Special cases and particular requests will, however, be faith- 
fully attended to. Private boxes cannot be delivered. 

LofC. 



H; 



WHAT TO SEND. 

Money, by all means, if possible. To invest money in 
articles to send is unwise. 

The Commission can purchase exactly what is wanted, at 
the very moment when needed most, and as a Commission at 
wholesale cheaper than others. 

CLOTHING, ETC. 



Cotton shirts, 

Cotton drawers, 

Canton flannel shirts and draw- 
ers, 

Surgical shirts and drawers 
(with tape strings to tie in- 
stead of seams at the sides). 

Large cotton drawers (to wear 
in-doors as pants), 

Dressing gowns. 

Slippers (if of cloth or carpet 
with stiff soles), 

Sheets, 

Pillow-cases, 



Bed ticks (single for filling 

with straw). 
Pillows, 

Pads, for fractured limbs, 
Ring pads, for wounds, 
Fans, 
Netting, to protect from 

flies, 
Housewives, stored with 

needles, thread, buttons, ^ 

pins, &c.. 
Handkerchiefs, c(^ 

Wash -rags, 
Old linen. k 



Oat meal. 
Farina, 
Corn-starch, 
Dried rusk. 
Jellies, 
Soda biscuit, 
Butter crackers, 
Boston crackers^ 



POOD, ETC. 

Good butter, in small jars, 

Jams, 

Onions, in barrels, 

Apples, in barrels, 

Cranberries, 

Pickles, 

Dried fruits. 



4tJK> ■ »»*>0 



IX y lac^ui^ i./^.aOf>U Viiti finU'* 



In special cases, eggs, bread, cakes, &c., are needed, but not 
generally. They should never be sent unless specially called 
for. 

FOR BEVERAGES. 

Good black tea, Lemons, 

Chocolate, Syrups. 

All preparations of the Blackberry are of double value. 

STIMULANTS. 

Good brandy, Port wine, 

Madeira wine. Cordials, 

Domestic wines are excellent in winter, apt to spoil in 
summer. 

Good Reading Matter. — Send no trash, Soldiers de- 
serve the best. A library is a valuable hygienic appliance. 
For the able-bodied, good publications are mental and spiritual 
food. For convalescents, lively, interesting books, the month- 
lies, the pictorials, works of art, science, and literature, as well 
as those for moral and spiritual culture, such as you would 
put into the hands of a brother recovering. 

Stationery is much needed, paper, envelopes, and pen- 
cils. 

HOW TO PACK. 

Pack in boxes. Barrels are not as good. Secure well. 
Boxes should not be so large that two cannot conveniently 
lift them into a wagon. Pack eatables by themselves. Never 
pack perishable articles, such as oranges, lemons, bread, cakes, 
nor jars of jellies and jams, with other goods. Tin cans should 
be soldered; all other modes fail. Stone jars should be 
corked and firmly bound with oiled linen or leather over the 
cork, and packed closely in saw-dust or hay, in boxes never 



36 ^'^lilTA^T /, 

exceeding a dozen and a half in a box, and nailed strongly, to 
bear rough handling. Jellies in tumblers, covered with paper, 
and wines, cordials, &c., in bottles, with paper or other poor 
stoppers, are liable to spill out, and if packed with other things, 
fcure to injure them. 

HOW TO MARK. 

Mark with paint or ink on the boards, — cards' rub off, — in 
plain letters and figures. On one corner, the number of the 
box according to the number sent by you in all, numbering 
your first box *1, your second *2, your third *3, and so on 
from the first sent to the last. On another corner, mark each 
box as from your Society, giving the name, and conspicuously 
also mark as follows : 

" George H. Stuart, 

Chairman Christian Commission, 

11 Bank Street, Philadelphia.'' 

To secure acknowledgments, and to save trouble, also send 
an invoice or list by mail, on paper, the common letter sheet 
size, written only on one side, specifying each box or barrel by 
number, and giving the contents of each by itself. Give your 
own name and post-office in full, with the name of your State- 
Place also another list or invoice of the same kind in the box 
under the lid, and if with this last you place also an envelope 
addressed to yourself, with a postage stamp upon it, you may 
sometimes, — not always, — have it returned to you through the 
mail, with the signature of the delegate, and the name of the 
hospital or camp, where he distributed it. 

Write plain. Above all, write your own name distinctly, 
and to save embarrassment, give your address in full, espe- 
cially whether Miss or Mrs. or Rev. 

Money should be sent to Joseph Patterjson, E^q., Treasu- 
rer, at Western Bank, Philadelphia. 



A PATRIOT MOTHERS THANK-OFFERING. 

The following letter breathes a tenderness of maternal affection, purity 
of patriotism, and depth of love to the Gospel of Jesus, which make it a 
gem worthy of the granddaughter of the sainted Isabella Graham an(^ 
sister of the lamented Dr. Bethune : ' 

Detroit, Septei 

tjBORGE H. Stuart, Esq. j 

Dear Sir: Having, with great th.inkfulness to God, heard by tele- 
graph that my youngest son, Adjutant 11. M. DuflBeld, is not Avounded, 
and quite well at Chattanooga, I send you twenty dollars, as a thank- 
offering from a mother for the preservation of her son at the Battle of 
Chickaraauga. I should like the money appropriated where the most 
Michigan regiments are, but still I do not dictate. AH souls are precious, 
and you can use it as you think best. May the blessing of our Father in 
heaven go -with it. » 

■ I think of the Christian Commission and the Sanitary Commission as 
twin brothers going forward to their glorious work. Oh ! my friend, what 
a field is open to Christians now, and how ought they to improve it in 

jtrying to rescue those who are "led captive by the Devil at his will.-'"' 
God bless you and the dear, precious Christian Commission I Surely tlte 

'blessing of those who are ready to jierish will rest upon you. Ah ! little 
do you know how much eojnfort you give to anxious mothers when they 
hear of your locations, " My boy is there,'* is her thought, and then sfee 
bows the "knee and prays, that your labors may be blessed to him and 
others. 

Surely it is like going out into the highways and hedges, when you look 
after the spiritual wants of soldiers. You encourage Christian soldiers, 
while you «^t'a/;e/^ the impenitent. Oh I how noble to be near the sick- 

{^bed and cheer him with your blessed words, 

j '' When the groan his faint heart giveth, 

Seems the last sigh cf despair." p. 



Oh I how 1 have wept and prayed for our beloved country. Two soni^ — 
one a Colonel, and the youngest, the Adjutant — I gave. The Colonel is 
wounded so that he cannot go back to the army, and the dear young Ad- 
jutant has been in this battle. But I put him under the shadow of GocVs 
wing, and He has kept him safe. I am anxious, but still I say, j 

If new sorrow should befall, 

If my noble hoy should fall, ' 

If the bright head I have blest. 

On the cold earth finds its rest, -^ 

Still with all the mother's heart. 

Torn and quivering with the smart, ' 

I yield him, 'ncath thy chast'ning rod, ,, 

'I'o my country and niy God. 

You will never know the good you have done till " God shall wipe away 
all tears from your eyes," and you see how many gems shall sparkle in 
your crown, which have been gathered from our army. 

How much good your Commission has done ! God bless you all ! In 
baste. Your sister in Chri.st, 

I.SABELT>A G. DUFFIKLP. 








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